|
Opposition mounts to Wild Coast mining decision |
 The controversy surrounding the mining of Xolobeni, along the Wild Coast, has been reignited, with SA Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) granting ASX-listed mining junior Mineral Commodities (MRC) mining rights to a portion of the land, notes E-Brief News. The company was awarded a mining right for the Kwanyana block in the Xolobeni project, representing about 30% of the original area applied for. A Mining Weekly report notes that the mining licence was awarded to MRC's SA subsidiary, Transworld Energy and Minerals, and the remaining areas in the Xolobeni project will be held under prospecting right valid until 2010, which could be extended until applications were made to convert the remaining areas into mining rights on a block-by-block requirement. Non-governmental organisation, Sustaining the Wild Coast (SWC), said it considered the fact that mining licences were not granted for all the areas ‘a substantial, although clearly incomplete victory', and added that affected parties ‘await to be officially informed by DME of their decision'.
Full Mining Weekly report
Nevertheless, concerned NGOs and local residents plan to lodge strenuous objections to the department's decision to permit mining in the Kwanyana block. If their objection fails, they will take the issue to court, SWC campaign spokesperson John Clarke said, according to a Business Day report. The DA has also voiced its disappointment over the granting of the permit. Mineral Commodities said its SA subsidiary, Transworld Energy and Mineral Resources, planned to fast-track development of Kwanyana, which holds about 139m tons of mineral-bearing sands. SWC does not believe the mining plan complies with the notion of sustainable development and argues the public participation process was seriously flawed. Clarke said the campaign was unhappy that Mineral Commodities' Australian shareholders were informed of this decision before the department informed the local communities.
Full Business Day report
Additional report in the Mail & Guardian Online
The SWC is calling for interested and affected parties to make their objections known. There is a period of 30 days during which objections can be raised, says a report in The Herald. Meanwhile, the long-running Coastal Management Bill is due to be enacted by the National Council of Provinces in the next month. The DA and the SWC argued that once the Bill became law, Environment and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk could and should veto the project in line with his department‘s already publicly stated position on it.
Full report in The Herald
Draft Integrated Coastal Management Bill (PDF file)
Guide to Integrated Coastal Management Bill (PDF file) |
